This invention relates generally to the filed of cooling beverages, and in particular to the use of removable cooling elements that may be integrated into various beverage containers. Such cooling elements are removable to permit them to be placed into a refrigerator freezer and reused.
Perhaps the most common method to cool beverages is with ice cubes. Another way to frost a glass in a freezer. However, there are many problems associated with these methods. For example, ice cubes dilute the beverage and can alter the taste of the beverage. Ice cubes may also be contaminated when touched, such as when placing them into the beverage. As another example, when frosting a glass in the freezer, the frost can be contaminated by other products in the freezer, causing an odor. As a further example, the beverage may be contaminated by the water used to make the ice.
Hence, this invention is related to devices and techniques for cooling beverages which greatly reduces or eliminates such drawbacks.
In one embedment, the invention provides a beverage container that comprises a vessel having an interior that is adapted to hold a beverage. The vessel has a closed bottom end and an open top end, with the bottom end defining a cavity that is fluidly sealed from the interior of the vessel. The beverage container also includes a cooling element that is configured to fit within the cavity. The beverage container further includes a base comprising a bottom member and a stem extending vertically upward from the bottom member. The base includes a connector that is configured to be coupled to the bottom end of the vessel and to enclose the cooling element within the cavity. In this way, a beverage held within the vessel may be cooled by the cooling element that is fluidly sealed from the interior of the vessel. As such, the beverage may be cooled without contamination from the cooling element. Further, the cooling element may easily be removed and replaced with a fresh cooling element whenever needed.
In one aspect, the connector comprises a threaded end on the stem. The cavity may also include a threaded section so that the threaded end may be screwed up into the cavity using the threaded section. In this way, the exterior of the beverage container may contain a smooth morphology to make the container more aesthetically pleasing. At the same time the beverage container may easily be separated into its component parts for cleaning, replacement of the cooling element, or the like.
In another aspect, the cavity may be generally cylindrical in geometry and extend vertically upward into the interior of the vessel. With such a configuration, the cooling element may comprise a cylinder that is filled with a cooling substance. In a further aspect, both the connector and the vessel may be constructed of various materials, such as glass, hard plastics, glass coated with a hard plastic, and the like.
The beverage containers of the invention may be configured into a wide variety of shapes while still providing a suitable cooling element. For example, the vessel may be in the shape of a mug, a wine glass, a martini glass, a tumbler, a stein glass, a margarita glass, a champagne glass, and the like.
In one particular embodiment, the bottom end of the vessel may define a generally hemispherical cavity that is fluidly sealed from the interior of the vessel. With such configuration, a generally hemispherical cooling element may be provided to fit within the cavity. In this way, the base may be coupled to the bottom end of the vessel to enclose the cooling element within the cavity. The use of a generally hemispherical cooling element is advantageous in that it maximizes the surface area available for heat transfer. Such a cooling element is also particularly useful in beverage containers that have the shape of a tumbler, mug, or the like because the generally hemispherical cavity fits nicely within the interior of the vessel. Conveniently, the vessel may include threads while the bottom end of the vessel also includes threads to permit the base to be screwed into the vessel.
Another feature of the invention is that it may include one or more trays having a plurality of holding regions for holding the cooling element. In this way, the tray may be placed into a freezer to simultaneously cool multiple elements.
In one aspect, the tray may include a plurality of recesses that are integrally formed in the tray to define the holding regions. The recesses may be in the shape of the cooling element so that they may easily fit within the recesses. For example, the recesses may be semi-cylindrical, hemispherical, and the like.